Samwise actor Sean Astin gives verdict on ‘Lord Of The Rings’ TV series

Sean Astin, who played Samwise in Lord Of The Rings, has discussed plans to make a TV series based on the popular franchise.

It was recently reported that Warner Bros Television and Amazon Studios are in talks to produce a TV adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels.

Warner Bros – whose film counterpart made the Lord of the Rings movie adaptations – has reportedly approached Amazon Studios, who are a potential buyer for the series. They are both currently in talks with the Tolkien estate, and discussions are said to be in the very early stages.

It has also been reported that Netflix and HBO were also approached, but that Amazon are the frontrunners. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is personally involved in the negotiations and it’s been said that Amazon are looking for their own global success equivalent of Game of Thrones.

Sean Astin, who starred as Samwise Gamgee in the film trilogy from 2001–2003, recently spoke to EW Radio about the plans, saying: “I saw that the other day, and I thought that was intriguing. I’ve been saying for 15 years that maybe like 12 years after Lord of the Rings came out, that it would get remade. And people always said, ‘Oh no, it’ll never get remade! It’s a classic! They could never top it!’ And I’m like, ‘No, it’ll get remade. It’s a massive story! The characters are so beloved.’”

Asked whether he would be keen to return for the TV series, Astin replied: “I’m carrying the Samwise banner for the Peter Jackson version of Lord of the Rings. When I saw the Amazon thing, that didn’t even occur to me. I just sort of thought, ‘What would it be like to see the next Sam there?’ I think it’s an intriguing idea [but] the devil’s in the details. How would they do it? How? Who?”

Sean Astin was on EW Radio to comment on the recent news about Amazon rebooting the Lord Of The Rings franchise, and if he will return to Middle Earth. He also has a few ideas for a Lord Of The Rings spinoff TV show of his own.

Astin recently appeared in the second season of Stranger Things, portraying Bob Newby.